Tag: military aviation

Norwegian Air Force F-35A JSF Demonstrates Ability to Takeoff, Land from Highway

The Drive reports that “Norway has become the first country to demonstrate the ability of the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A Joint Strike Fighter to operate from a highway as part of an exercise in Finland.” Maj. Gen. Rolf Folland, Chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, said in a press release, “This is a milestone, not only for the Norwegian Air Force, but also for the Nordic countries and for NATO. … This demonstrates our ability to execute a concept of dispersal. Fighter jets are vulnerable on the ground, so by being able to use small airfields – and now motorways – [we can] increase our survivability in war.” Norway’s F-35As “have been training to conduct highway operations in Finland this week as part of the latest iteration of that country’s annual Baana road base exercise, which kicked off on Monday.”
Full Story (The Drive)

Austria to Replace Retiring C-130 Fleet with Embraer’s C-390 Aircraft

Reuters reports Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner said on Wednesday that the country “plans to replace its retiring C-130 Hercules fleet with Embraer’s C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft.” Tanner said the country is “aiming to buy about four aircrafts and is negotiating with the Netherlands on a potential joint order.” Tanner added that a “contract for an order should be signed in the first half of next year.”
Full Story (Reuters)

USMC to Conduct Safety Review Following MV-22 Crash

Aviation Week reports that the new acting head of the US Marine Corps “will elevate the head of safety role to a general officer by next summer as the service conducts a review of its operations with a long-term look to improving its overall focus on safety.” The announcement “comes after a Bell Boeing MV-22 crash.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

DOD Considering “All” Options as it Seeks Upgrades to F-35’s Cooling System

Breaking Defense reports the “Defense Department is considering ‘all’ options as it seeks upgrades to the F-35’s cooling system, … with the F-35 Joint Program Office not ruling out the potential for a new competition to upgrade the system currently provided by incumbent producer Honeywell Aerospace.” Honeywell makes the F-35’s Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS), “which combines an auxiliary power unit, environmental control and emergency power into a single apparatus that, among other capabilities, cools off the aircrafts subsystems. The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) wants to upgrade the PTMS in order to enable future capabilities on the fifth-generation aircraft.” When asked “whether the F-35 program is planning a competition to field a new PTMS, JPO spokesman Russ Goemaere on Thursday said, ‘All PTMS options will be assessed to ensure we provide the greatest capability to the warfighter.’”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

Belgium Decides Not to Accept New F-35 Deliveries

FlightGlobal reports Belgium is joining the US in “not accepting new deliveries of the latest Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters, pending the certification of an improved flight computer and new software.” Belgium’s defence ministry “says it will follow Washington’s lead in not accepting F-35s assembled in the new Technical Refresh 3 (TR-3) configuration, which Lockheed is in the process of flight testing. The military airframer is experiencing delays completing flight certification of the TR-3 package, which prompted Lockheed to lower its F-35 delivery targets for 2023, as customers pause accepting new fighters.” On August 1, the Belgian ministry of defence said, “The refusal of the US government means that the process of certification and qualification is still ongoing and that the US government does not want to accept (and therefore pay) for hardware as long as the software is not fully finished. … This is a completely logical decision that also applies to Belgium.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

KC-135R Completes First Commercial Aerial Refueling of USAF Aircraft

Aviation Week reports that a privately owned Boeing KC-135R “refueled two U.S. Air Force aircraft in late June, marking the service’s first air-to-air refueling from a commercial service provider.” The Metrea Strategic Mobility-owned tanker “offloaded nearly 90,000 lb. of fuel during 13 boom contacts with an RC-135 and E-3 during Exercise Resolute Hunter between June 23-29.” Metrea’s Air and Space Group head Ty Thomas said, “We look forward to supporting more U.S. Air Force refueling requirements as well as increasing demand from allies and partners.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Rafale Purchase by Indian Navy is Major Blow to Super Hornet’s Future

Aviation Week reported that the announced selection by the Indian Navy of a French fighter “is another blow to the future of Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet assembly line in St. Louis.” The Boeing Company “had already announced plans to wind down F/A-18E/F production in Missouri by 2025, but held out hope that potential orders in India could extend U.S. assembly operations by a year and keep the fighter in production on a new assembly line on the subcontinent.” But India’s Navy announced the selection on Friday of the Dassault Rafale-M “to become its next carrier-based fighter.” Boeing Vice President of Business Development for Air Dominance Programs Bernd Peters said, “So we’ll likely cease production [of the Super Hornet] around the 2025 time frame.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)